Michael has crafted an epic poem which rewards the effort of reading – it’s a gift

Kings

When I was young I earned my keep as servant to a lordHe worked me more and paid me less than he could well afford.I tended to his clothing and his food and to his drink,And left him on his own a lot so he could sit and think.He said his wealth was in his mind; a wealth you cannot hold,But I know best his wealth was real and counted out in gold.My wealthy lord had wealthy friends and they too thought a lot(So much to learn when you’re a have and not a poor have not).They’d call upon my master’s house and join him in his thoughtOr study manuscripts they’d found or papers that they’d brought.“Ahmed” they’d call (for that’s my name), “bring us some food and drink.“We need to be sustained with wine, and sweetmeats help us think”Of course I served my master well, I had no other choiceBut none of it fulfilled my mind or made my soul rejoice.

And so these pampered learned lords would while away the dayWith reading and with thinking and with nothing much to sayUntil my master Melchior one day called out to me“Go saddle up the camels; you’d better make it three.“Victual up the caravan we’ll be away a while“And pack a bag yourself” he said “We’re travelling in style”That meant of course that I’d be there to dress and preen these fopsAs well as feed the camels at our, no doubt frequent, stops.Earlier that afternoon around came BalthazarWho huddled up with Melchior to chat about some star.Then Gaspar rushed excited in and gabbled out the newsThat Dan’el and Balaam had both foretold that all the JewsWould get a new Messiah or at least a brand new King;That this, tied in with this new star, was really just the thingThey’d all been waiting for so long and time was now quite tightAnd they must all be saddled up and set to go tonight.

Of course the preparations took me very many daysAnd all my lords would do at night was hang around and gazeUp in the sky into the west and stand around like foolsUntil at last I’d packed our bags and loaded all the mules.

Lord Gaspar and Lord Balthazar were very fancy friendsWho’d show off all their fine new gowns and follow fashion trendsAnd oh they loved their unctuants, their perfumes and pomadeUnlike my own Lord Melchior, his tastes were rather staid.His pref’rences could trace their roots way back to times of oldLike many more before and since he kept his wealth in gold.A mule was set aside for each of these three lords to loadWith treasures of their choice alone before we hit the road.Thus it was that Balthazar with frankincense did weighHis mule to nearly breaking point, but who am I to sayThat this was any worse than that of Gaspar who did packHis mule with jars of Myrrh, while quite concealed inside a sackLord Melchior hid bars of gold and strapped them to a beast.And thus our caravan was set from greatest and to least.In spite of camels and of mules not one was I to ride;My Lords climbed up upon their steeds and I walked on beside.

We travelled on at nights and sat to eat at break of dawnAnd journeyed on awhile until the brightening sun had wornA path to highest heavens then, beneath our shelt’ring tent,We slept until the sun declined and once again had bentHis head below the earth and then we travelled onUntil the sun rose up again and all the night had gone.

Before we slept these worthy lords would check their treasure troveEnsuring that their wealth was there and that no sneaky coveHad dipped a thieving hand inside and scooped some myrrh or goldOr frankincense, though truth be known they would have needs been boldTo get away with such a crime and realise it’s worthFor these lords worshipped nought so well in heaven or on earth.

And so we travelled on until the star (it seemed to them)Rested near a little town that’s known as Bethlehem.My lords consulted all their books, then thought and talked a bitAnd came to the conclusion that considering that itPortended a new ruler for the kingdom, then the thingTo do most properly was tell the current king.So (after checking on their wealth) we trudged a further nightAnd then far in the distance and by daybreak’s softest lightJerusalem, King Herod’s seat, appeared as silhouetteIt’s mighty temple still half built, the scaffold round it yet.The caravan is called to halt, my lords they then dismountThey talk awhile and then decide there’s time enough to countTheir wealth again, and so each bag is lifted from its beastThe contents emptied out and back from greatest and to leastAnd then when it’s accounted for and none has disappearedThey call me to their side and just as I had fearedThey tell me they would go alone and I must guard the lootAnd woe betide if any ounce or drop or strip or shootShould be astray when they returned from meeting with the kingAnd be assured that they would check by counting ev’rything.

So much for trusting me I thought. These wise old fools have needOf simple kindly sentiments to overcome their greed.Enough of all my bitterness, suffice to say I burnedWith anger at their attitudes, but then when they returnedThey checked their wealth again and finding it all thereThey lay down in their tent to chat and ordered me prepareA fine repast while they discussed the meeting with the KingWho’d greeted them all friendly like and asked them please to bringThe news of where the new King lay so Herod could perforcePay homage to his substitute, preparing in due courseA fitting place for him to dwell and rule the lands around,But asked them not to tell a soul about what they had found.Well I’m not wise or learned in books and lack the very thingsYou need to understand the thoughts of rulers and of kingsBut nonetheless I didn’t think that any good would comeOf telling Herod what he asked; instead I just played dumb.

When night fell we were up again and following that starA few more hours ride they said. It wasn’t very far.Not so far on camel’s back I thought. That’s fine for themBut once more I stayed silent till we came to Bethlehem.

We came upon a humble house, on which the star shone downThe same as many other humble houses in this town.No battlements upon its roof, no guards beside the doorAnd yet this was the house foretold, of that they were quite sure.Lord Gaspar and Lord Balthazar quite lost their dignityThey climbed down from their camels and laughed immod’ratelyOutside this little dwelling place wherein was meant to beThe prophesied new Jewish King that they had come to see.Lord Melchior frowned down on them and in his quiet wayAdmonished them to calm themselves; consider how to payThe rightful homage to a King whose birth had been foretold.His own intent was to present a humble gift of gold.The other two could not contain their shock at this proposedDonation of his worldly wealth and both were quite opposedTo giving up their unctuants and scents so dearly boughtTo one whose humble dwelling wasn’t quite a Royal Court They flounced and sulked and minced about; they just could not be sure,Till Melchior with firm resolve just knocked upon the door.Out came a lady, babe in arms, and both looked so sereneThat all the lords dropped to their knees as if before a queen.Nothing came to mind to do and nothing to be saidSo I too fell upon my knees and humbly bowed my head.As if upon a gesture giv’n or at a sound unheardMy lords arose and turned about and then without a wordApproached their mules, still laden down with what they’d valued mostUnhitched them from the caravan and led them to our host.

Each lord unslung the treasure bags to each mule’s great reliefAnd then to my amazement and my utter disbeliefThe frankincense and myrrh and gold were laid before the ChildWho looking down from mother’s arms just raised his hands and smiled.Well I was still on bended knee when She with holy graceAsked me to rise and I too saw the Baby’s smiling face.We said no more but as one man we slowly left that sceneAnd none of us, not even I, forgot where we had been

King Herod never learned from us where’er the baby layAnd I heard that the family left Judah on that day.My lords still think a lot it seems and study hard to learnBut now they give away a lot of ev’rything they earnMelchior no longer hoards his heavy bags of gold,Lord Gaspar and lord Balthazar unlike the days of oldNo longer crave their unctuants and incense as beforeThough they still love their finery and keep that all in store.Myself I still serve Melchior, but he has set me freeAnd when they all come round to ours I treat them all to tea.

Wonder not, for you have found the truth
Our discoveries taste and smell divine
Sucked dry from your voracious mouth
I ache to drink more of your vigorous wine
The malodour of prior sweet simple love
Repugnant in the air.

Entwined where everything here is brighter there
Our pupils dilate with unnatural delight.
We have arrived in Faery Land.
Handcuffed to the Flame Lady, I take your hand.

Michael’s response to the trigger

FREEDOMFreedom is a precious favour which most people assume is their rightBut many have found their lives are restricted and so have to fightTwo examples were slavery and the African Apartheid systemBoth were defeated by strong men campaigning against them.

Born on 24th August 1759 and died on 29th July 1833,William Wilberforce was a leading politician and MPHe led the campaign for the abolition of slaveryThroughout Britain and the lands of the British Empire.

He campaigned most of his life against the evil that was slavery,And as a Member of Parliament he could influence the lawsSo when the Slave Trade Act of 1807 was passedHe had achieved much of his life’s aim.

In 1826 he resigned from Parliament because of failing healthBut he still continued to campaign and eventually ParliamentPassed the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. He died just three days laterAfter the passage of this bill into law.

Nelson Mandela was another campaigner for freedomBorn in South Africa on 18th July 1918, he campaigned forFreedom for the Black South African from ApartheidThe system of preference for White South Africans.

He trained as a lawyer and graduated from Hare and Witwatersrand Universities, before Practicing in Johannesburg. Here he developed his political interests.These led to bitter disagreement with the Government. In 1962 he was arrested and charged with attempting to overthrow the state.He was sentenced to life imprisonment and served 27 years.

With growing unrest among the black South Africans, he was released in 1990From there he was elected to be President and set about rationalizing black and white.This he achieved and his country is now fit for both black and whites.With Freedom for both ethnic groups.